MARGAO: The extraordinary gram sabha held on Thursday witnessed unanimous opposition from Colva villagers against the proposed pay parking at Colva Beach. Fearing adverse effects on business activities, the fishing community, and the convenience of locals and tourists, the villagers expressed their anger at the disruption caused to their lives.
The village panchayat of Colva extended full support to the villagers and decided to initiate a signature campaign against the government’s move to implement pay parking. Benaulim MLA Venzy Viegas, present at the meeting, announced plans to meet with the Chief Minister to discuss the issue and urge the government to de-notify the pay parking scheme.
Villagers emphasised the neglected state of Colva Beach, despite being declared an iconic beach, citing inadequate infrastructure such as poorly maintained roads leading to the beach. They called on the government to prioritise the development of proper infrastructure before implementing pay parking.
Eulisio Gomes, a villager, highlighted the potential setbacks for the fishing communities that regularly visit the beach for their activities due to the proposed pay parking. Shack owners and various business activities, already facing losses for other reasons, would be further affected. Sarpanch Suzie Fernandes affirmed the panchayat’s full support for the villagers’ opposition to pay parking.
“The notification by the government does not mention the parking system and hence it will be applicable to the locals also. We fear that tourists and the locals who visit the Colva beach from surrounding areas will prevent coming to the beach in order to avoid the fees, which in turn result in business activities,” she stated.
She also said that parking fees even to the locals who are regular visitors at the beach is unacceptable.
“It is not fair to impose fees on the people in order to do the recovery. Colva is already suffering because of the traffic cell and this will be an extra burden. Pay parking scheme will also result in more corruption and deprive the locals from freedom of visiting the beach,” said MLA Venzy Viegas.
